Game Notes! Hawks @ Bobcats

-By Hursty-

Whadddddup!
So, these are live game notes of the Hawks/'Cats clash (duh).

Hawks are at 49-26, Cats at 40-36 on the season.

I'm watching the feed from the local Atlanta station, so don't get mad at me if 'Nique gets all excited, and I decide to write about.. whatever it is he's rambling on about.

Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby are both out today, so it's likely Jamal Crawford will get the start. Jeff Teague is expected to see extended minutes off the bench.

J-Creezy had a 50pt game against the Bobcats last year, just fyi.

Well, looks like Teague and Mo Evans will start tonight, Crawford will begin the game oooon the bench.

1st Quarter:

Diaw takes Evans in the post, then Smoove takes Diaw. Touch'e sir.

Teague is super quick, but... can't really control it. Gets his shot blocked by Ratliff (yes, Theo is still in the L), then turns it over a few possessions later. Charlotte lead 10-6 early.

Wallace misses a fast-break dunk, but makes amends 20 seconds later, and the 'Cats lead 14-6. Time out Hawks.

Boris Diaw's ass looks bigger in HD.

Wallace throws down a 'meh' alley-oop off the inbounds, assist to Diaw.
Crawford checks in.

Mario West is in the game for "defensive purposes". It's 21-10 Cats.

Mo Evans sucks, and Mario can't dribble the ball. Half-court trap? West has never heard of it.

Bobcats are just dominating all facets of the game right now. Good interior defense, strong transition game, and they're finishing at the rack - unless Smoove gets a piece of it.

28-12 Cats are up.

Diaw gets a nice seal, feeds it to Tyson Chandler, who's just checkd in. Chandler throws down. Then Mario West goes baseline for the strong jam over Chandler.

Oh, man. Atlanta looks UGLY without Joe Johnson in the line-up. Bibby not so much, but Joe just does so much for the Hawks. Crawford airballs a 3 at the buzzer to end the 1st Q.

Bobcats have 11 made field goals. They've also got 11 assists. Efficiency at it's best.

-2nd Quarter-

Just quietly, Raymond Felton looks like he's been taking dieting advice from Boris.

Tyrus Thomas checks in and promptly commits an offensive foul. Yay!

Bobcats lead is "cut" to 14, after it had blown out to 20. Chandler decides to take matters into his own hands however, and on the third attempt gets a put-back to go. *Insert celebatory fist-pump*

Josh Smith is the only dude on the Hawks who's contributing offensively, and he's doing it off offensive rebounds and put-backs. 'Cats are still up by 17 though.

Crawford has 11 now, Wallace leads all scorers with 16. Actually, make that 18 - opportunity for an And-1. Smoove picks up his 3rd foul.

Wallace has 19, Smoove has a seat. Bobcats lead 51-33.

Wallace is just silky smooth. Another 3pt play gives him 22. Can I say he's in Predator mode?

Bobcats force another turnover. Ugly, ugly, ugly. Evans looses the ball off of his foot. Chandler gets an And-1 dunk (he hits the FT as well).

Cats finish the half with an 11-3 run, and lead 59-36 at the half.

-3rd Quarter-

Crawford starts in place of Teague, no suprise there. Horford kicks things off with a 15 footer, Felton misses, Crawford throws up a brick, then Felton decides to drive, $ money.

Hahaha, Diaw blocks Josh Smith's lay-up attempt, then misses the easy lay-up. He redeems himself 20 seconds later though.

Crawford hits a 3, and it's 63-43. Wait, no. S Jax hits a 3.

J-Creezy leads the Hawks in: pts (14), 3's (2), assists (4), minutes and turn-over's.

Hawks cut it to 14 after Smith blocks Wallace and gets a transition lay-up at the other end. Annnnd, Felton knocks down a 3.

Boris Diaw triple double alert! He's got 12, 7, 5 and most suprisingly... 2 blocks!
Wallace has 22 and 4. S-Jax has 8, 4, 3 and 2.

The T.V shows a great stat - the Bobcats have only lost 9 games at home this season. Orlando and the Hawks have only lost 7. Talk about protecting your home-court advantage.

Hmmm, Hawks have cut it to 13. 75-62, after Crawford knocks down a 3. Evans does likewise, and it's now a 10 point game. Hawks have also gone to a zone.

Charlotte takes time, and quickly disintegrates the Atlanta zone, peppering it from the perimeter. Bobcats lead 82-67 with 1.05 remaining in the 3rd.

-4th Quarter-

Bah, boring 4th so far. Most interesting thing so far is Wallace jumping into the 3rd row.

Teague hits a 3, cutting it to 10. Teague slids into the paint for two. But Evans and Wallace
answer the call. Evans has three 3's.

Bobcats lead 102-88. D.J Augustine has come to life. Wallace is still scoring at will, he's got 28. 5.45 remaining in the 4th.

The crowd is doing mexican waves... good times. 105-92 'Cats lead. Tyson Chandler is 6/7 from
the FT line. What!

Great hustle by Diaw - of all people - leads to a 2nd chance opportunity for the 'Cats. Josh Smith deflects a potential alley-oop to Chandler, who goes sprawling. Anyways, Diaw has 15, 9, 9, a steal and two blocks, 1 turn-over.

Charlotte lead 105-94, with 2.27 remaining in the 4th.

Shoutout to Betcats! Whaddddup man!

Neither team is particularly motivated to close out the game, and Charlotte trots out with a W.

Happy birthday to S-Jax, who turned 32(!) yesterday.

Diaw finishes with 17, 9, 9, 2, 1.

G-Force finishes with a game-high 28 and 6 rebounds.

For the Hawks, Horford finishes with a super quiet 16, 12, 3 and 2.
Mo Evans lead the Hawks scoring with 20, and Crawford ended up with 18 and 6 assists off the bench.

Overall, a very solid win for the 'Cats, who lead from start to finish. Their 41st win of the season ensures that for the first time in franchise history, they won't have a loosing record.



Peace, Hursty.

A Point Guard's Worst Nightmare

A Moose Track

The center takes a swift entrance pass to the post from the off guard positioned on the wing, and he gets position, battling with the opposing big man for position. Realizing that he doesn't have a prayer of getting the ball in the hoop that way, he kicks it back out to the swingman, who scans the court, deciding on his maneuver.

Noticing the shouting shooting guard on the opposite side of the court, a quick two-handed chest pass finds it's way into the waiting shooter's steady hands. Receiving it softly, the shooter takes their time getting into position for the three pointer. The grip on it feels as good as any for the two guard, who let's loose as a defender starts running towards him.

The ball flies into the air, leaving big men and point guards alike clawing and wrestling for position for the awaiting rebound. Unexpectedly, the ball ricochets off the back of the rim, taking it's first bounce at the top of the key beyond the three point line. Players, taken aback, start to react to the surprising outcome of the rebound.

The quickest man on the court, the point guard, runs over and snatches the ball, beating out all other fighting men by at least a step. Taking off towards the hoop on a breakaway, the dribbler accelerates, deciding whether he should take a layup or go for the slam to give his teammates fire and momentum. Or, if there is a man coming up behind him, should he pass it up for the dish? Toss it off the backboard for a highlight reel alley-oop? These are the types of things the dribbler mulls over.

Slowing down towards at the wing of the opposite hoop, all alone, the dribbler decides to go for the jam. Amidst a crowd of cheering fans, encouraging the dunk, the quick point guard brings it back for the tomahawk, eyes close to the rim, anticipating a highlight-reel finish, until . . .

A seemingly inhuman body comes up from behind, bringing superhuman hops and length. Ain't no way the ball's getting in the hole this time.

--Moose

Flash Bang: Joe Johnson

Joe Johnson has had lovers before. Girls who stayed for a while before leaving him- thinking they'd gotten all they could. He's had passionate relationships and emotionless ones. Some break-ups hurt more than others, we all know this.

There was this one time, a few years back, where he was happy and some thought he was even in love. He'd moved in with her. Her name was Phoebe. Phoebe liked to ride this beautiful silver Lexus. It could go from 0-60 in a matter of seconds- for a while, it was the fastest ride going around and everyone wanted a piece of it. People bought imposter cars just to look like Phoebe.

Joe and Phoebe were hooked, he was the quiet, sharpshooting athlete. She was the flirtatious girl who everyone liked, but could tell that it probably wouldn't last.

Joe did his best to make ends meet. He worked for hours on end, trying to nurture the love.

They got engaged eventually and planned a multi-million dollar wedding.

Everything seemed perfect until this girl called Ashley came along. Ash was the kind of girl who didn't have the sex appeal of Phoebe, but had the internal charisma and fortitude that made her attractive. She was kinda of a tomboy. Ash didn't wear make-up or straighten her hair. Oh, and she was homeless. She wore raggedy clothes and ill-fitting plastic jewelery. She had been loved and cared for once-upon-a-time. But that was an age ago.

Joe quickly ended his relationship with Phoebe and moved in with Ashley. He cared for her more, put in even more effort into making it work. They started off on a rocky, unstable platform- a relationship built on interest, but not passion- over time Ashley made it work for Joe. She introduced him to her old school friend Josh. Then Marvin and Al moved in across the road. Finally, Mike moved in next door. Joe liked them all. They were nice dudes who kept their words. They worked hard in the gym and competed night in- night out. They couldn't always finish their sessions, but kept working at getting better and stronger.

Fast forward through the smoke and mirrors. Joe Johnson is still going out with Ashley, and unlike with Phoebe, they're taking it slow. They've decided to still be outgoing and compulsive, but they have boundaries. She knows his needs, and he can fulfill hers. Everyone knows them in the neighbourhood- they're the talk of the town- how they seem so perfect for each-other.

Ashley? She's grown her hair longer, she wears make-up again and even looks hot in a dress. She exudes a self-confidence that reflects her personality in even the worst of bubble pucked mirrors. Oh, and did I mention that she's learning a second language? And likes foreign places. Joe says that Chile is nice in late June.

Hopefully I don't need to explain myself because you understand the metaphor.

You might wonder just how a guy, an All-Star, can be so 'slept on'. I do as well. Honestly? I don't even know the answer. Slam Magazine asked the same question. They couldn't answer it fully either.

Who is Joe Johnson? What does he represent? And most importantly- Will this love last?

PS- Shout out to DP for the story idea.